This invention is directed to an improvement in the terminal block construction of U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,896 which issued on 3 July 1962 to Benjamin Doktor, now deceased. An improved terminal connector is provided, as well as methods of fabricating and completing fabrication of a terminal connector.
The terminal block construction of U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,896 involves use of a housing element and a wedging member. The housing element and the wedging member have conductor contacting surfaces, and the wedging member is mounted for pivotal movement within the housing element in order to firmly engage an electrical conductor between the conductor contacting surfaces when the wedging member is in a predetermined pivotal position. A conductor is inserted into the housing element, and the wedging member is pivoted to the predetermined position in order to firmly engage the electrical conductor.
To this end, the wedging member includes a supporting shaft that extends through a hole in a support plate that forms a part of the housing element. The wedging member is pivotable about the supporting shaft. As disclosed in the patent, the supporting shaft is positioned within the hole. and then the end of the supporting shaft is enlarged by staking the same to retain the wedging member in place. The enlargement so produced prevents the wedging member from being removed from the housing element, and this has proven to be a disadvantage. In particular, it is not now possible to interchange wedging members so as to accomodate conductors of different sizes. The wedging member cannot be removed from its associated housing element without destruction of the enlarged supporting shaft end or the housing element or both. Further, the staking of the supporting shaft to enlarge its end has proven to be difficult in many instances, and the staking operation may damage the housing element or the wedging member or both.
The present invention is directed to providing a wedging member that may be easily inserted into and removed from an associated housing element without the need for staking. To this end, the supporting shaft is provided with an enlarged end portion of slightly greater diameter than the diameter of the hole in the support plate. The enlarged end portion extends outside the chamber of the housing element within which conductor contacting takes place. This enlarged portion may be snapped into and out of place, thereby releasably retaining the wedging member in position in the housing element. The wedging member can thus be easily changed, yet once in position it is retained in position by the enlarged end portion of the supporting shaft. Since the enlarged end portion extends outside the conductor contacting chamber, it does not interfere with the conductor contacting function.
The invention will be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description, to be read in conjunction with the appended drawing.